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An innovative figure-8 bridge could help drivers traveling between China and Hong Kong, where cars drive on opposite sides of the road. The "flipper" bridge would seamlessly swap traffic lanes from one side to the other, helping to turn the border journey into "an unforgettable spectacle," its designers say.

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The Obama administration's plan for reviving the oil-soaked Gulf Coast looks set to draw heavily on, and ultimately dwarf, the huge restoration project currently under way in the Everglades. Officials say that as with the Everglades project, it will be necessary to create an interagency task force to undo the damage not just from the current spill, but from a century's worth of erosion and overdevelopment.

Levee commissioners in New Orleans plan to hire their own contractors to review Army Corps of Engineers plans to rebuild three troubled levees. Of particular concern is work on the London and 17th Street canals, both of which were badly breached during Hurricane Katrina. "We want to make sure the work is done properly," said engineer Bob Turner, executive director of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East.

Haiti's earthquake recovery effort is getting a helping hand from a familiar corner: building information modeling software. A new product called BIMStorm aims to unite planners, architects, government agencies and citizens as they work to rebuild the country's ruined infrastructure. The software lets parties collaborate in real or asynchronous time.

Massachusetts has agreed to buy 40 miles of railway from freight carrier CSX for $100 million. The state wants to build a new commuter rail line with a federal grant of $20 million, plus $1.7 million in state funds. The new line is slated for completion by 2012 and is expected to create between 200 and 300 construction jobs.

The man responsible for capping Kuwaiti oil wells after the first Gulf War says it should be possible to stanch the Gulf of Mexico gusher by pumping steel balls into the broken well's riser. Giant metal marbles would be heavy enough to sink through the gushing oil, and should seal the well as they settle says Willard Wattenburg. Not all see the fix as working. However, Wattenburg says even if the plan fails, it won't cause any additional environmental damage.